Page 19 of Selfish Desires

“I don't know, Blair,” I admitted. My voice was barely a whisper as I continued to watch Vincent. He was partially obscured by the building's shadow, but I could see the familiar ruggedness of his face, the haunted shadows flickering in his eyes. “I have no idea why he's here.”

“It’s pretty fucking obvious.” Blair scowled. “He’s an awful person. How did he know about today?”

I frowned, fighting not to say the obvious answer. There was only one way Vincent knew, and Blair’s rage blinded her from the answer.

“Zachary,” Blair said, glaring over my shoulder. I spun around, seeing Zachary exiting through the tinted revolving doors, his eyes shooting to the destroyed ice.

“I came down to help with the ice. What happened?” He gestured to the melted mess.

Blair clenched her jaw, fuming at her husband while my fingers stayed gripped to Blair’s arm like it was my lifeline. “What did you do, Zachary?” Blair asked through gritted teeth.

The slight grin from Zachary’s face faded as Blair’s daggers threatened to gouge his soul from his body. “What did I do?”

My eyes shifted from Zachary to Vincent. Except, he vanished. Vincent was gone just as quickly as he appeared. “Blair,” I uttered, tapping her forearm. “He’s gone.” I nodded across the avenue to the empty space.

Blair spun around, her dark eyes narrowed and her nostrils flaring as she scanned the empty sidewalk. Zachary looked between us, his confusion evident. “What the hell are you talking about?” He finally moved from the entrance of the building, trudging over to us, crushing pieces of abandoned ice under his loafers.

“What did you do, Zach?” Blair repeated slowly.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Zachary’s deep timbre shook my bones as a violent shiver wracked my body.

“We saw Vincent,” I said.

Zachary was about to say something, his eyes darting between me and Blair. “You’re joking.”

“No, we’re not.” Blair twisted from my grip and stormed over to Zachary until their faces were inches apart. “Did you tell him about today?” She shot her pointer finger half a centimeter from his eye. “Don’t you dare lie to me.”

Zachary didn't flinch. He met Blair's murderous gaze with quiet defiance. But his armor didn’t last long, and it crumbled. First, his shoulders sagged, and then he dropped his gaze, gluing it to the pavement. “I’m sorry. He promised me he wouldn’t come near here.”

Something in me snapped, but it rendered me speechless. The betrayal surging through my body punished every warm muscle.

“Wendy, I’m so sorry. I should have never said anything to Vincent. Are you all right?” Zachary’s eyes pleaded with mine to forgive him, but I had nothing to offer anyone. I was depleted of anything extra, and my knees wobbling didn’t help my stance.

“How could you?” Blair asked, acting as my voice.

“Let me explain,” Zachary began.

But before another word escaped his lips, the crack of Blair’s hand met Zachary’s face.

“I’m sorry for ruining the party,” I said, helping Blair clean up plates of confetti, throwing out half-eaten servings of ice cream cake, and picking up anything else knocked over by throngs of screaming toddlers.

“Don’t even. I’m sorry. I’m married to the biggest lying asshole,” replied Blair, tossing crumpled napkins into the black garbage bag Zachary held. They hadn’t made eye contact or exchanged words since the big Vincent surprise. Blair’s eyes caught the red handprint painted across Zachary’s face—a miracle not one parent had asked Zachary what happened to his face during the party. “You didn’t ruin a single thing.” Blair walked to the freezer, grabbed an ice pack, and pressed it against Zachary’s sour face, but he didn’t resist the cold against his skin.

His eyes softened as he cupped the icepack and mouthed, ‘Thank you’ to Blair. She merely nodded, her face a mask of stone.

“I, uh…” Zachary started, clearing his throat. “I made a mistake telling Vincent you were back in New York.”

My eyes froze on Zachary. As much as I didn’t want to blame him for earlier, how could I not? Again, I lost my ability to form words, which quickly became a pattern when Vincent was involved, and collapsed onto a wooden dining room chair. Blair joined me seconds later and draped her arm around my slumped shoulders.

“Why would you do that, Zachary?” Blair hissed.

“He promised me he wouldn’t be here or anywhere nearby.” Zachary closed his eyes, dragging the ice pack away from his face as he realized his big fuck up.

“And I thought you stopped talking to him,” Blair nearly shrieked, glaring at her husband. “You lied to me.” She gnashed her teeth.

I grimaced, watching Blair’s knuckles turn white from gripping the table’s edge.

“Blair, let’s just talk about this.” Zachary stepped forward, but Blair’s death stare stopped him.

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